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Review | The Lost Heir by Allison Whitmore

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The Lost Heir by Allison WhitmoreRelease date: December 7th, 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley

Isabella Foxworthy was just another girl…until she learned she was an empath, able to read the energy of others. A secret world known as the Violet City lies beneath her family’s hotel in Los Angeles. Through this discovery, Isabella is catapulted into a whirlwind of magic, adventure, and danger. The Violet City holds the key to protecting her stability; her family hotel, her friends, and her very sanity. With morphlings, empaths, and fair folk also comes a powerful entity that twists her mind into knots, threatening everything she loves. Now, Isabella and her new friends—a guitar-playing jock, his gifted but neurotic brother, and a set of over-indulged twins—have until her 16th birthday to save her world with the help of someone who’s been lost for a very long time…the lost Foxworthy heir. But will they find him in time? And will he be a friend or foe?

I totally requested this book on NetGalley based solely on its cover, which I think is beautiful and mysterious. So far my selection of books based on their covers hasn’t gone so well, but this book broke my streak of poor choices. I really enjoyed it! I was instantly drawn to the main character Isabella who has the ability to really identify with the emotions of others. She’s an orphan who lives with her grandmother in the family’s old hotel in Los Angeles. Just before her fifteenth birthday Isabella discovers that she is an empath and in order to save her powers and the secret Empath Society she must rekindle the “purple fire”. Isabella then embarks on a dangerous journey into a magical world that she didn’t know existed.

The premise and characters of this book were very well written and interesting. I liked how it was told through Isabella’s thoughts as it really let you get inside her head. She was an easy character to identify with. While she’s a strong female character, Isabella isn’t alone. There is a whole cast of fully formed supporting characters that help her along on her journey and of course there was a bit of romance! The plot was full of twists and turns which kept you curious and wanting to know what would happen next. The main author of the book was Whitmore, but two other authors also contributed. This could have resulted in a confused mess, but I think the input from all three women helped create a quick and easy flowing read.

My only complaint was that the book had a slow start. However, once you get through the first few chapters things really pick up and it’s fast paced. I totally understand the slow start though as the authors use this time to introduce the main character, her circumstances and set things up for the rest of the novel.

All in all, it was an interesting read that I would recommend to others who enjoy books from the fantasy genre. It focuses on teenagers, but could easily be enjoyed by adults as well.